Author Topic: Scarlet fever hospital Blyth  (Read 48729 times)

Offline Phodgetts

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Re: Scarlet fever hospital Blyth
« Reply #27 on: Friday 16 March 12 23:23 GMT (UK) »
Interesting view of the hospital sites as they were on the 1907 Blyth Harbour Commission map of that year.  ;D

Philip
Northumberland; Johnson, Johnston, Dodds, Rutherford, Gray, Kennedy, Wilson, Sanderson, Davidson and other Border Marauders as they are discovered on this journey.
Berkshire; Knight, Bristor, Sharpe, Sharp, Ashley.
Suffolk / Essex; Perce, Pearce, Pearse, Pierce, Hayes.
Midlands; Hodgetts, Parker, Easthope.

Offline pityackafromblyth

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Re: Scarlet fever hospital Blyth
« Reply #28 on: Saturday 17 March 12 12:31 GMT (UK) »
Philip, Interesting post your last one with the map.  Going back to your post on 21 September, 2011, - the aerial photograph.  I am trying to get my bearings on the photo.  I can see the river and the two points you have circled in red.  There also seems to be the road running up towards Cowpen.  I am assuming that the buildings at the bottom of the photograph are the streets of terraced houses which run back towards Blyth town centre, Salisbury Street, Goschen Street, Wright Street, etc. ?  There is also a square towards the right hand side of the photo, so presumably Cowpen Square ?

Offline Phodgetts

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Re: Scarlet fever hospital Blyth
« Reply #29 on: Saturday 17 March 12 15:36 GMT (UK) »
Hoping a little extra labelling will help. Trying to rotate maps in the minds eye and match them up with what we currently know and understand in 3D can be a little difficult, but you have got it right thus far especially with Cowpen Road and Cowpen Square.

Enjoy

Philip
Northumberland; Johnson, Johnston, Dodds, Rutherford, Gray, Kennedy, Wilson, Sanderson, Davidson and other Border Marauders as they are discovered on this journey.
Berkshire; Knight, Bristor, Sharpe, Sharp, Ashley.
Suffolk / Essex; Perce, Pearce, Pearse, Pierce, Hayes.
Midlands; Hodgetts, Parker, Easthope.

Offline Michael Dixon

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Re: Scarlet fever hospital Blyth
« Reply #30 on: Wednesday 21 March 12 09:33 GMT (UK) »
Philip,

 A great panarama of north-east Cowpen !.   

 With Cowpen Cemetery ( civil cem opened c1877) just "under" John Street.

 Michael
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Ontario, CANADA
Lowell, Ma, USA
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Offline YorkieMatt

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Re: Scarlet fever hospital Blyth
« Reply #31 on: Thursday 14 June 12 01:41 BST (UK) »
Hello and this makes for very interesting reading, especially with events we have at work.

We've had what some may call "supernatural" occurrances for a long time however over recent weeks they've seemed to become more frequent at night. There's nothing sinister, more like playful and michievious. Several employees on late shift or night shift have seen on rare occasions a childlike figure, thought to be a girl (one relative picking up a daughter witnessed a girl in our doorway but the employee leaving was the only female on the premises), and very often there's movement sensed by employees or shadows moving that are human shadows.

After some unusual activity tonight my colleague and I had decided that it was time to research the site and find out what was previously on our location before the industrial estate was built. I'm from Yorkshire (hence the name) and my colleague is from Wallsend so we have no real knowledge of the area's history.

I stumbled across this thread purely by accident and was stunned when I saw the location of one of the hospitals on which is now Spencer Road / Cowley Road. What has really stopped me in my tracks is a snippet of information about a mortuary for that hospital which was said to be a few hundred yards away from the main hospital building. Now I'm the first to admit from old maps it's quite hard to judge a modern location however if my bearings are right I would guess this mortuary was located right by the river on what is now a tight right hand bend just after the APS factory and Northumberland Council Depot.

Can anyone confirm or deny this please?

If this is true then it would explain a great deal. If not then we're barking up the wrong tree and need to look for another reason for her presence. Whatever the reason is I'm determined to find it.

I have to put hand on heart and say in no way has she ever appeared threatening or made anyone feel at unease. Quite the opposite. The child-like antics of switching lights on or opening blinds etc when you know you've done your rounds to lock up make you give that old father-like grumble of "Bloody kids" but it is very funny in hindsight.

And for those that wonder about spirits or "ghosts", my late wife was a true psychic, not like the TV ones, she never charged a penny to anyone, and as sceptical as a dry Yorkshireman can be I can tell you hand on heart there are things we can't explain with science (to put it mildly).

So if anyone can offer any light on this then we'd be most grateful. The subject of a mortuary may be a grim one but our little "friend" is far from grim and keeps us on our toes.

Matt


Offline Pete E

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Re: Scarlet fever hospital Blyth
« Reply #32 on: Thursday 14 June 12 07:00 BST (UK) »
 8) Cheers Matt, I certainly never expected this slant when I started the thread. Thanks to everyone else who has posted also for the great pics, maps and info.
Pete
Northumberland; Mann, Lynn, Waters, Pyle, Murray.   Yorkshire; Ellis, Heckison, Proctor.<br />Lincolnshire; Wilkinson, Dawson.<br />Cumberland; Doran, Murray. Cheshire; Sutton,

Offline Phodgetts

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Re: Scarlet fever hospital Blyth
« Reply #33 on: Monday 25 June 12 01:02 BST (UK) »
Well, I could imagine that quite a number of folk died at the hospital. Perhaps your wee ghostie is someone that died of illness there. Perhaps it is someone who got killed at the site when it was hit by a bomb during WW2.

I wonder what records exist about the hospital and its demise? Time to grill some of the oldies in Blyth about what they have heard happened. Hopefully there will be some hand-me-down stories that might explain it.

P
Northumberland; Johnson, Johnston, Dodds, Rutherford, Gray, Kennedy, Wilson, Sanderson, Davidson and other Border Marauders as they are discovered on this journey.
Berkshire; Knight, Bristor, Sharpe, Sharp, Ashley.
Suffolk / Essex; Perce, Pearce, Pearse, Pierce, Hayes.
Midlands; Hodgetts, Parker, Easthope.

Offline Phodgetts

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Re: Scarlet fever hospital Blyth
« Reply #34 on: Wednesday 18 July 12 00:27 BST (UK) »
I don't know what this hospital was used for. Perhaps someone can tell us.



In the last few days I have discovered an article about the hospitals that I never knew existed. It should answer all or most of our questions about the development of the hospitals in Blyth. The article includes the exact same image of the cottage hospital that you shared with us.

The article appeared in Tyne & Tweed in spring of 1983. I have looked for copyright notice and reproduction restrictions within the publication and there are NONE! On the basis of that, I feel free to post the article in full on this forum. It is definitely of such local importance that it should be brought into the public domain and a modern media format so that others can benefit from and enjoy the article and information that it holds.

This is the first instalment

                                                   Some Notes On Blyth Hospitals


                                             By James Scott (for Tyne & Tweed 1983)

(formerly the deputy headmaster at Ridley High School and founder member of the Blyth Local History Society and Blyth Railway Museum)


 
      In the autumn of 1832 cholera morbus reached Blyth, it's first victim being Peggy Lamb, a widow living in Church Street. A day or two later Andrew Steel, a roper, died and before the epidemic subsided eighty of Blyth's then population of 3000 had succumbed to 'the mysterious scourge'.

      During the 1832 epidemic a young doctor, Gilbert Ward, came to Blyth. He was a Newcastle man, and his early medical training was with Dr. Andrew Trotter at North Shields. He continued in practice in Blyth throughout the subsequent cholera visitations of 1848 (when six or seven died within three weeks) and 1853 (when about 20 died).

      There still was no provision in Blyth for isolating infectious patients, which was a special problem when seamen in port needed medical treatment ashore. Often, a lodging house keeper was persuaded to take in the sick man. In 1863, however, a French sailor was found to have typhoid fever. Dr. Ward at that time was French Vice-Consul for the port, and made himself responsible for finding a lodging-house keeper wiling to offer accommodation. The sailor gradually recovered, but the keeper caught the fever and almost died.

      When told of this incident Sir Matthew White Ridley, landowner of most of Blyth, generously placed a cottage rent free, for the use of Dr. Ward, and so was established Blyth's first hospital. The site was at the Park Road end of Ridley Avenue. The Cottage Hospital was used not only for infectious diseases but also for accidents and other cases. While the costs of running this establishment seem to have been borne by the South Blyth Local Board it was generally known as 'Dr. Ward's', because of the doctor's great interest and work in it.



Northumberland; Johnson, Johnston, Dodds, Rutherford, Gray, Kennedy, Wilson, Sanderson, Davidson and other Border Marauders as they are discovered on this journey.
Berkshire; Knight, Bristor, Sharpe, Sharp, Ashley.
Suffolk / Essex; Perce, Pearce, Pearse, Pierce, Hayes.
Midlands; Hodgetts, Parker, Easthope.

Offline Phodgetts

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Re: Scarlet fever hospital Blyth
« Reply #35 on: Wednesday 18 July 12 00:28 BST (UK) »
and the next;

      Dr. Ward was a prime mover in the establishment of the next Blyth hospital to be mooted. This was designed to be a memorial to Thomas Knight, a self made Blyth business-man and ship-owner. Thomas Knight had started life as a seaman in 1818. By thrift and hard work he saved enough money to buy his own keel to work for the Sleekburn Coal Company. He then bought a schooner of good sailing qualities and invested in other ships, retiring as steam ships began to supersede sailing vessels. He died on 28 March, 1878, and his widow dying in April 1879, left in her will a legacy of £6000 to endow a hospital for 'the sick and lame poor of the townships of South Blyth, Newsham and Cowpen'. The hospital was to be named after Thomas Knight, and must be erected within ten years of her death, failing which the £6000 would be distributed among the next of kin.

      None of Mrs. Knight's endowment might be used for the hospital building. This was to be the responsibility of the townspeople of Blyth, and was estimated as likely to cost £2500. Because of the depressed state of trade at this time there was little hope of raising such a sum (approximately £2,500,000 at 1982 values (£6.4 million as at 2012)), Dr. Ward, however, was able to persuade Sir Matthew White Ridley to donate the hospital site and a generous gift of money. Other contributions were received from the Duke of Northumberland, Lord Hastings, Sir W. G. Armstrong, Sir John Johnson, Mr. Edmund Watts, Mr. E. H. Watts and friends in London, the owners of the coal-pits at Cowpen, Bebside, Seaton Delaval, Washington, Pelaw, Burnhope and West Stanley, Messrs. Lambton bankers, and Messrs. Wood bankers. The ladies of the various churches in the town raised £251 by a bazaar. In all, over £2000 was raised, and the contract for the building was placed with J. & W. Simpson of Blyth, a firm which is still in business.

      The Newcastle Daily Chronicle of Wednesday, 28 December, 1887, told readers; 'Thomas Knight was one of the leading and wealthiest of the Blyth shipowners.... a new hospital named after him is to be opened today .... the members of the hospital committee will receive Sir Matthew and Lady Ridley in the boardroom of the Mechanics Institute at 1:15 p.m. and walk in procession to the hospital. The subscribers and general public will follow. At the door of the new building Dr. Gilbert Ward (who has taken immense interest in the undertaking) will present the key to Lady Ridley and ask her to open the hospital. After Lady Ridley has declared it open a portion of scripture will be read by the Rev. Peter Peace and prayers will be offered by the Rev. W. Greenwell, Vicar of Horton. An inspection of the interior will follow and there will be a luncheon in the Lecture Hall of the Mechanics Institute. Up to the present the hospital requirements of Blyth have been met by a small cottage hospital close to Blyth links'.

      At the opening ceremony Sir Matthew White Ridley praised the wisdom of Mrs. White in not providing the money for the building ---- he said it had been a stimulus for the townspeople and others to raise the money for the building so that they could earn the endowment. Mr. William Marlow Sidney, a solicitor, paid tribute to the work of Dr. Ward and said on him alone rested the honour of having erected the building.

Northumberland; Johnson, Johnston, Dodds, Rutherford, Gray, Kennedy, Wilson, Sanderson, Davidson and other Border Marauders as they are discovered on this journey.
Berkshire; Knight, Bristor, Sharpe, Sharp, Ashley.
Suffolk / Essex; Perce, Pearce, Pearse, Pierce, Hayes.
Midlands; Hodgetts, Parker, Easthope.